Roof flashing



Sept. 15, 1959 D. E. KIFER ROOF FLASHING Filed Feb. 13, 1957 FIG.5

.. FIG.7

HVVENTUR. DAVID E. K|FER 25 y FIG. 6 QMMMM ATTORNEYS W nai United States Patent ROOF FLASHING DavidE. Kifenl'anna, 'Ohio,-assignor to'The L. R; Oatey "Company,"Cleveland, hio,-a corporation of Ohio Application February 13,1957, Serial Not-639,978

,6 Claims. (Cl. 285-143) This application relates as indicated to a novel roof .flashing,andrmoreparticularly to a'flashing designed for employment in conjunction with an upstanding pipe or ,the likeprotruding through a roof of a building.

It istnow, a very common practice to conduct electric :wires to buildings and particularly homes by introduclng su'ch wires into the upper end of a small diameter upstanding pipe which is attached to "the outside wall of the building-and,protrudes ,through the room some distance the weight ofice on the wires. leading thereto,.and. other like influences. This, of course, not only tends to cause leaks butsuch-action is cumulative and the pipe .tends to sway more and-more so that the flashing itself 'may become loosened and the brackets and. connections where ---the wires-enter the building may be subjected to undue strain. In-order-to-limit these objectionable tendencies, -it is common practice toemploya plurality of brackets and clamps -tosecure the pipe at intervals to the wall. of the building in an attempt to obtain improvedrigidity.

It is accordinglya principal object of my invention to provide a new and improved roof flashing for upstanding pipes and thelike which WlllflOt only serve its principal purpose inanimprovedgmanner but will also itself serve to stabilizeithepipeor other upr ght.

Another object is to provide such flashing in the form of an assembly which may be very quickly mounted in place and in which all parts thereof cooperate to the desired end.

Still another object is to provide such flashing which will grip and brace the upright passing therethrough in a manner obviating the necessity for the employment of clamps or the like around the pipe below roof level, thereby facilitating installation and reducing the time and cost of the same.

A further object is to provide such flashing which will automatically accommodate itself to roofs of difierent inclination.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention then comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawing setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but a few of the various Ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through my new flashing and associated parts illustrating the manner in which the pipe may be mounted when passed through the roof of a building;

Fig. 1;

'Fig. 3 is a fragmentarytop plan' view showing'the 'pipe passingthrough the domeof the'flashing, the" associated plastic collar being removed;

Fig. '4is a side elevationcorresponding generally to Figs. 5 and 6' are fragmentary "enlarged vertical "crosssections showing in detail the manner'cfisecuringeand l sealing the 'U -bolt ends; and

roofsbfbuildings not 'only to seal the opening through which a verticallyupstanding'membersuch as a-pipe passes; but:also to brace. and'rigidifysuch' member. I'By thus bracing thepipeor' like.:member, not only is'the necessity for"the:employmentiof other brace means re duced but also damageto the flashing itself is eliminated as. sometimesresults .from .swaying of the upstanding member inrthei-wind. In the'form illustrated,':my new flashing .comprises aflat5octagonal metal sheet 1 having an upstanding dome portion .2 generally centrally' there of. Such dome'has a .fflat'upstanding side portionj3 aperture'd to permit'passage therethrough of the two ends "The flat sheet portion :1 is 'adaptedto 'rest 'on' roof boards "7 and. to be secured to the latter by means .of nails, bolts;or screws passing through. the three uniformly arranged apertures. 8,"9.andj10 adjacent the upper edge of the sheet and through .thefour elongated aperturesll, 12,. 13 and 14, one .adjacenteach end corner of the elongatedsheet. -It is ,thus possible to. secure the:.fla's'hing'very firmly to theroof so that it may serveto' brace the upright member 15-in the mannerexplained. below. The usual shingles or other roofing material may, of 'coursefbeapplie'd to roof'boards7 so as'to'overlie the edges of the sheet 1 except for they lower e'dgethereof which Willinstead normally overlie thefishingles. While the upright member 15 mayserve a. variety.of purposes ,"inclu'ding atelevision antenna mast, for example, .the form illustrated in'the' drawing is a pipe leading downwardly to a meter box 16 from which electric wires may be introduced through the wall 17 to the interior of the building. Such meter box will normally be securely attached to the outer wall of the building but pipe 15 may extend for a long distance between the same and the roof flashing. As pointed out above, it is an object of the present invention to provide means firmly securing the pipe where it passes through such flashing so as to rigidify the same and reduce the necessity of employing additional clamps and brackets along its length to secure it to the building wall.

The generally central aperture 18 in dome 2 through which pipe 15 passes will ordinarily be slightly elongated in a direction transversely of the narrower extent of sheet base 1 in order to permit the flashing to be inclined as shown in Fig. l to accommodate itself to the slope of the roof. Accordingly, there will normally be a slight gap between the pipe 15 and either the upper or lower edge of the aperture 18 which must be properly sealed if the entrance of moisture is to be prevented.

As shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 7, I provide a resiliently deformable collar 19 preferably of the cross-section indicated in Fig. 7, the upper neck 20 of such collar being of slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of pipe 15 so that it must be somewhat resiliently distended in order to fit over such pipe as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. To facilitate this operation, such neck portion is formed with a somewhat thinner wall as is also the immediately adjacent upper portion 21 of dome-shaped body portion 19. An outwardly projecting lip 22 may desirably be provided on neck 20. The lower domed portion of such collar is dimensioned to fit reasonably snugly the sheet metal dome 2 of the flashing, being resiliently deformed or distorted as may be required for this purpose. It will accordingly be seen that an excellent weather seal is provided despite the precise angle at which pipe 15 may protrude upwardly through the flashing dome 2. The collar may be of rubber but Neoprene is preferred. Of course, a variety of commercially available elastorners may be employed.

The U-bolt 6 embraces pipe 15, and its two ends project through apertures in the lower flat sided portion 3 of dome 2 as shown on an enlarged scale in Figs. 5 and 6. A dished or concave neoprene washer 23 is fitted beneath a dished or concave metal washer 24, their concave faces being directed toward flat wall portion 3, and nut 25 is tightened to press such rubber washer tightly against such wall 3 as shown in Fig. 6. By this arrangement, the neoprene washer 23 is caused firmly to engage both the bolt and the side wall 3 to afford an excellent weather seal. Moreover, the resilient deformation of such washer maintains a pressure assisting in locking nut 25 against loosening.

It will be seen from the foregoing that I have provided a novel and superior form of roof flashing which is adapted to accommodate itself to a variety of roof inclinations and correspondingly to various angular relationships with the member passing upwardly therethrough. By tightening bolt 6 firmly against pipe 15, the latter is held snugly and rigidly against the opposite side of aperture 18, thereby bracing the pipe in a most efficient manner. These advantages are achieved in a manner which, instead of complicating assembly and erection, much facilitates and simplifies the same.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A roof flashing for generally vertically extending pipes and the like passing through such roof, comprising a substantially rigid member having a flat base portion adapted to be secured to such roof, a generally central dome portion having an aperture through the central portion thereof, through which such pipe is adapted to pass, and a bolt having an arcuate portion and a free end portion passing outwardly through the wall of said dome spaced substantially from said aperture and substantially adjacent said base portion adapted to engage such pipe in the arcuate portion to hold the latter firmly against the side of said aperture through which such pipe extends.

2. The roof flashing of claim 1 including a separate sealing member in the region of such aperture in said dome portion adapted tightly to encircle such pipe passing therethrough.

3. The roof flashing of claim 1, including an elastomeric sealing element comprising a downwardly outwardly flaring hollow portion fitting over said central dome portion of said flashing and an upwardly projecting thinner walled collar portion adapted to be resiliently distended to fit such pipe extending through such aperture in said dome portion.

4. The roof flashing of claim 1, wherein said bolt is a U-bolt.

5. The roof flashing of claim 1, wherein the portion of the wall of said dome through which said bolt passes is substantially flat and vertically disposed to extend generally parallel to such pipe.

6. The roof flashing of claim 1, including means engaging said bolt to draw the arcuate portion of the latter tight-1y against such pipe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 276,423 Keller Apr. 24, 1883 644,415 Folger Feb. 27, 1900 730,089 Bropson June 2, 1903 969,476 Holt Sept. 6, 1910 1,511,884 Heppes Oct. 14, 1924 1,524,341 Davis Ian. 27, 1925 1,805,110 Schaller May 12, 1931 1,921,709 Stecher Aug. 8, 1933 2,300,913 Flaherty Nov. 3, 1942 2,581,817 Simmer Jan. 8, 1952 2,761,347 McKee Sept. 4, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 177,176 Canada May 22, 1917 854,139 Germany Oct. 30, 1952 

